Warwick Thumb 6-String Re-fret

This customer bought a fretless-converted Warwick Thumb 6-String, and wanted to get it re-fretted.

On the bench, ready for restoration.

We decided to go with the original Warwick bell brass fret wire for this job. Bell brass frets are a little more malleable than nickel silver frets, and I had to be careful not to over-seat the fret ends before fitting the tang.

Masking off the fretboard around the soon-to-be re-cut fret slot.

When you buy the bell-brass fret wire from Warwick, you get exactly the number of pieces that you need, pre-cut. If you make a mistake with a piece, then you have to but another bag of 26 pieces. I made sure I took my time on this job.

Cutting the slot and checking the depth. The fret wire is also ready to go.

Re-slotting my way down the board.

Installation begins! The fretboard is waxed as a barrier for the gel-type glue in the slots.

Fretted all the way down the neck, ready for clean-up.

Shiny.

Bevelled and ready for levelling and crowning.

Cleaning up the fret ends.

Taped off and marked for levelling.

Crowning begins.

Crowned, polished and ready to go.

Strung up and happening!

Finished!

I always like working on Warwick basses because they behave in a predictable way. They are very well engineered instruments and can almost always be brought back to top notch condition.